Monday, June 27, 2011

• Be an “at home” naturist: It’s simple to live naked at home – just get undressed and do everything you usually do. For example, Desert Rat lives naked most of the time . . . “Since I`m retired, I`m reluctant to get dressed in the morning. [I dress] to go out and do whatever things that I have to do; I take the clothes off as soon as I can after I get home.” Nude Allen says that . . . “Every afternoon after work as soon as I get in the house I get nude. What a good feeling getting those jeans off. I do all necessary housework and cook supper in the nude, and stay nude until next morning.” Salmongetter says . . . “I usually am nude within about three minutes of walking in the door and unless I need to go someplace or have non-nudist company show up, I am nude until the next time I need to go out and after Thursday pm I don`t have to get dressed until Sunday if I don`t want to.” Baltic says . . . “Getting naked is the very first thing I do when I get home. It`s freeing. And at home there is no need to make a statement with any kind of clothes or expensive wristwatches.” Finally, Nude Dude says . . . “I have found that doing some chores and housework nude is very relaxing and therapeutic; especially after a long day`s work. It`s so nice to come home, strip down, and if I have chores to do, I am naked. Nothing better.” - Nude Dude

• Be a “backyard” naturist. The best advice for backyard naturists is to be open with your neighbors. Visit them in advance, and explain you’re a nudist and don’t like clothes. Vix711 does this: “. . . my wife and I wander/sunbathe naked all summer weather permitting in complete privacy, well almost! . . . [my 80 year old neighbor] . . . has one daughter in her early fifties who comes and mows her lawn once a week on her sit down mower. She invariably pulls up by the fence and never bats an eyelid whilst chatting about the weather, politics, whatever. We have even invited her round but she says it’s not for her . . .” MontanaNude summarizes this saying. . . "My neighbors know that I am a nudist. Those who are OK with it come without calling. Those who have a problem, call before coming over. . . I gave up hiding and coming up with one-liners years ago.”

• Become a “nude party” host: Why not invite friends over for a meal, or a game of cards, or a karaoke night, or a pool or spa party? Your house can be the most popular naturist gathering place in town. People arrive, strip down, and enjoy a naked activity with friends. PJ love hosting nude parties.

• Create a traveling nudist resort: Prepare your vehicle so you can travel nude without concern for getting “caught”. Install window and seat coverings, and wear easy to slip on and off clothing when necessary. Then you can strip down with your traveling companions, drive naked to see local attractions, stop to eat a picnic and take a walk nude, take photos of you and your naked friends standing by a road sign, talk, laugh, and just have some good naked fun in your own car or truck.

• Create a naturist home park: Eric reports that . . . “Around 1996 we moved into our house in the country. . . We had a neighbor only on one side and we could come out the back door and sun bathe nude, but we could never venture more than a couple steps from the back door. . . Eventually we made our first big purchase and bought a hot tub. If we were quick and careful we could go out nude . . . As years went by we were not satisfied with that and needed more than these few square feet to be nude in. In addition to that we wanted a pool and did not want to wear a suite. We planted fast growing hedges and built privacy fencing from rough sawn hemlock from a local saw mill. Over the course of a couple years we were able to become perfectly private from the road and our neighbor. We now have a large deck, hot tub, pool, horse shoe pits, bocci, and volley ball, and we use them all nude. We garden and mow the lawn in the buff. Soon I will be starting to build the pentaque court (ever nudist place needs one). We love our yard it’s our very own naturist park! We love having our nudist friends over and enjoying all it has to offer and some great food!"

• Live at a nudist resort: PJ and I do this. A small resort is a bit of a Payton Place. But it’s great to be nude outdoors anytime we want, to eat in the restaurant nude with friends, to sing karaoke or dance nude with others in the clubhouse, to swim in the pool or soak in the spa without a suit, to hike nude into the hills right from the trailer. Many advantages, but it does restrict the people who drop by. But then maybe that’s a good thing as well?

Living a naturist lifestyle is probably a progressive thing, moving from home naturism to resort living. At what stage are you?

Saturday, June 25, 2011

On the spur of the moment, I decided on Monday evening to head up to Vermont to join the Naked Hiking Day (i.e. summer solstice, June 21) hike on the Appalachian Trail. It was announced on HikingNaked.com. Arriving at the trailhead at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, I found the organizer named Ed and a congenial group of 5 other nude hikers. We hiked from near Wallingford, VT, down the Appalachian Trail to near Danby, VT. Along the way there was a waterfall and later a great overlook atop a sheer granite wall affording expansive views of the valley to the west. After about 8 miles we arrived at Little Rock Pond, and took advantage of the opportunity for a skinny-dip in the warm waters. After 2 more miles we reached the end, where we had prepositioned some of the vehicles. We met a few through-hikers, who did not seem offended by our nudity, and (at the pond) one grumpy family who clearly was offended. They went around to the other side of the pond, keeping their distance, clearly afraid that we would traumatize or corrupt their 5-year-old daughter.

One of the hikers, FreewalkerMA, said he had planned to stay an extra day to do more freehiking, so I altered my plans and decided to join him. The next day it was raining, but the temperature stayed around 60 degrees and we were warm enough as long as we kept moving. We did a 5.5 mile hike over Bromley Mountain, and then a four mile hike to Griffith Lake. We topped off the day with the short hike from the parking area to the nude area on Harriman Reservoir (AKA The Ledges, Vermont's "nude beach"). Once again we finished off the day with a skinny-dip, washing off the trail dirt and ignoring the continuing soft rain.

All in all, two fantastic days to celebrate the summer solstice. And, as at the ENG the week before, I was lucky enough to find a kindred spirit in FreewalkerMA who has the time and the interest to do some serious freehiking here in New England. Life is good!

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Nude on the road again. Driving naked down the road again. Skinny Trippen with my very best nude friends. Just can’t wait, we’re nude on the road again. (With apologies to Willie Nelson)

So where can nudists go to be nude?

Home and the back yard? Great, but this tends to get boring, though it helps to invite friends over for food or games or karaoke or a pool party, but where else?

A nude beach? Sure, but nude beaches are too distant for many naturists.

A nudist resort? Resorts have become low rent or pricy or both, and besides, visiting the same places over and over can again get boring?

Maybe the area has a pool that can be rented for nude use. Even so, this can be expensive and get old. So home, backyard, resort, beach, pool – where else?

PJ and I have driven literally thousands of miles naked the past few months, and that got us thinking. Why not take a Skinny Road Trip with friends this summer? Yes, go traveling nude with your nudist friends. Not skinny dipping, skinny tripping. What could be better?

Drive naked to see local attractions, stop to eat a picnic and take a walk nude, take photos of you and your naked friends standing by a road sign (now there’s a different tourist photo), talk, laugh, just have some good naked fun.

Advantages for nudists?

• Close location for everyone• Lots of different things to see and do• Lots of excitement and fun• Very social• Good for any age person• Low cost

A Skinny Road Trip is much more interesting than owning an isolated cabin lot for sunning and hiking nude; visiting the same spot over and over can be boring, and a nudist can Skinny Road Trip along the way to the isolated location anyway.

Even if money isn’t an issue, nudists can Skinny Road Trip on the way to nearby resorts and beaches, and find many more interesting things to do.

The Disadvantage?

What if they get caught? Someone like a truck driver may see. The police may show up.

Preparation is required to overcome this problem. The vehicle can be organized as a traveling nudist resort with towels and window shades. It makes sense to take some clothes along for stopping to see attractions, and it’s a good idea to wear something that can be easily slipped on and off while driving to keep from being seen. Ladies may want to wear something on top; men usually don’t need to worry about that. Of course, always obey traffic laws. With preparation, naked driving is safe and fun.

So How Would It Go?

The Skinny Road trip would be scoped out in advance – how far to go, what to see, what to do, where to stop for privacy, etc. Then the trip could be advertised to local naturist friends.

Attendees would gather at a specified location to car pool.

Once everyone is ready and the vehicles prepared, everyone gets in, off come the clothes, and down the road they go. Taking off those sweaty clothes, the feel of breeze from an air conditioner and the sun through a window on a naked body – ah nudist heaven!

Along the way people talk and share and enjoy conversing in the friendly way only naturists can.

Occasionally people will stop and get dressed to see attractions, or eat at a restaurant, or get gas and a snack. A Skinny Road Trip is backwards. Instead of driving to a nudist location to take off clothes, the participants take off the clothes to drive to places where they will need to put clothes on.

After a fun day sharing naturism, everyone returns safely home, satisfied with a wonderful time nude. Don’t believe it? Try it for yourself. PJ and I will. Just like naturism in general, you can’t understand until you try it for yourself.

Has anyone out there ever taken a Skinny Road Trip? If so, share a report.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Here are several reports about sharing backyard nudism. Anyone else have an experience like this?

"I'm naked in our backyard about 99% of the time. The other 1% - textile parties and gatherings. Our neighbors have seen us several times and because of that I don't cover, run for cover, or come up with one liners either. They've looked over the fence, seen us completely nude, full frontal and smiled and waved. I don't think they'll join us but at least they are accepting or tolerant." - FP

"Mr Pointon is open about his naturist lifestyle . . . "All my neighbours know that I do my lawns and gardening in the nude, . . I've approached all my neighbours and and told them 'this is me, this is what I do', and they are fine with it." One of his neighbours told the Bay of Plenty Times Weekend Mr Pointon was a "lovely neighbour". "He did tell us he likes to do a bit of nude sunbathing in his garden and that's his business. It's not my cup of tea but I would rather live next door to a naturist than a P lab, . . I don't think it's a big deal. It gave me a bit of a giggle. People get in a stew over it and say 'oh what if children see', but in my opinion there are more pressing worries about the kids, like bullying or teen drinking." - Ellen Irvine

Friday, June 17, 2011

"I regularly spend time nude in the back yard. One day this summer one of my wife’s Avon customers came by and she wanted to show off the fire pit I had recently built in the back yard. She thought I was inside the house at the time. When she opened the door there I was and her customer was momentarily taken aback. I said I was sorry; then she said that was the way God intended us to be. I thought that was a nice response . . ." - Phil62

Summer's finally arrived, and if you're like many people, you love relaxing naked in the sun in the back yard. So, it's prudent to be prepared.

What will you do if you are caught naked in the backyard?

Will you run and hide in the house, too embarrassed to ever be seen in the neighborhood again? (This won’t work of course.)

Here are five actions to consider taking this summer if your neighbor or someone else catches you naked in your backyard:

1. Deny it, then act completely surprised. “I`m WHAT ? OH MY GOD ! You`re right!” Then, walk back into the house and just let the person wonder.

2. Quickly come up with a snappy one-liner, such as:- “It`s one of the side-effects of being a somnambulist who sleeps in the nude.”- “I’m looking for my lost dog that snuck out the door.”- “The hornets chased me out of the house in the nude.”- “My smoke detector went off and I need fresh air so I don’t die.”- "Never let your mother-in-law hypnotize you."- "I am checking the weather and temperature so I can dress accordingly."- "Okay, Scotty, very funny. Now beam down the uniform." (Looking upward and shaking fist.)- "I just learned that this neighborhood is clothing-optional; didn’t you know either?"

3. Just act normal and don`t make a big deal of it – you’re caught anyway. T&C81 used this strategy effectively: “I have been caught by my neighbor in my back yard. I didn`t mention it, we chatted, eventually he asked and I told him that around the house I don`t bother wearing anything. The reply was "hmm, sounds fair" and that was it. We kept on chatting and it was never mentioned again."

4. Explain the benefits of nudism and invite the person to join you: "It`s too warm to be wearing clothes, so you’re welcome to take your clothes off and enjoy this sunshine with me." (If they do, you can set up a two-house nudist colony.) Abhchelms used this strategy: “My neighbor lady caught me years ago. She had an expression of disbelief at first, then come to find out she wanted to hang out too. . . My neighbor Beth and I would have morning coffee on my back deck Saturdays and Sundays."

5. Visit your neighbors in advance, and explain you’re a nudist and don’t like clothes. Vix711 and his wife use this strategy successfully with their neighbors: ". . . my wife and I wander/sunbathe naked all summer weather permitting in complete privacy, well almost! . . . [my 80 year old neighbor] . . . has one daughter in her early fifties who comes and mows her lawn once a week on her sit down mower’ She invariably pulls up by the fence and never bats an eyelid whilst chatting about the weather, politics, whatever. We have even invited her round but she says it’s not for her . . ."

Honesty is usually the best policy. MontanaNude summarizes this saying. . . "My neighbors know that I am a nudist. Those who are OK with it come without calling. Those who have a problem, call before coming over. . . I gave up hiding and coming up with one-liners years ago."

Thursday, June 16, 2011

"Have had some wonderful weather for freehiking the last few days in southern Utah. Got out on a two hour freehike on the east slope above Pleasant Creek. Surging creek, beautiful meadows with lot of wildflowers, and, for most of it, not a soul in sight. . . I've been working on exploring all of the potential freehiking trails and have several lined up. I'll be gone starting Sat. for a hot springs tour across Nevada on my way to a conference at South Lake Tahoe. Secret Beach is on tap for Sunday afternoon! Back in late June so come on down!" - GroverGuy

"Got back last week from a three day canoe trip on the Green River in Utah - We floated from Green River State Park down to Mineral Bottom near Moab. Was able to be nude the entire time after leaving the put-in, except for evenings when it was still too cool and buggy. The river was high, so you could float with very little paddling. Campsites were somewhat difficult to find due to the high water covering gravel and sand bars. There are plenty of great hikes that can be made up side canyons-all suitable for nude recreation. I particularly enjoyed poking around the old Hey Joe Mine - nude of course.

From there we traveled to Valley View Hot Springs for a few days of camping and swimming. . . while almost everyone is nude in the pools, most people put on robes or wrap themselves in towels when out of the water. This, in spite of the fact that VVHS is clothes optional everywhere. Even the restroom/shower facilities are unisex. Anyway, it is my favorite resort that is reasonably close-by . If you haven't been there, you are missing out!" - Mike

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Our friends from southern Utah came down for a visit; it was good to see them again. We sang nude karaoke together Friday evening at Shangri La Ranch. PJ and I just love singing karaoke nude.

Saturday we attended the Canyon Country Naturists pool party in Mesa. It was fun sunning and swimming and eating pot-luck and visiting with about 40 local naturists. We met many new friends. Canyon Country Naturists is one of the most active groups we’ve met. We have joined and hope to enjoy many activities with this group in the future.

Saturday evening we returned to Shangri La Ranch for the nude dance; it was lots of fun.

We had a chance to talk with the owner about a proposal we’d presented a week earlier. Amazingly, he accepted our proposal! It looks like we’ll be relocating our trailer to Shangri La – cheers! I’ll share more about that in the future.

Monday we returned to Shangri La to pick out a trailer spot before heading to Yuma for our next work assignment.

As always, PJ and I love living life as a naturist with good naturist friends.

Monday, June 13, 2011

Finally, I've posted photos from the 2011 Olive Dell Ranch Bare Burro 5k held last April. (See http://imageevent.com/kenandjane/bb5k2011 .) I tried to eliminate any that show people who don't want their photo posted. If I posted yours by mistake, please let me know and I'll remove it.

The Bare Burro was tons of fun as participants will surely agree - it's great to run free. Hopefully we'll meet more of you next year.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

"I was given a great tip for freehiking while on travel. The location is called Weasel Creek. It is very near the little town of Winston. For the GPS "buffs" the start of the trail is at LAT: 46.442949 LONG: -111.705061. Only a car or two can park there so you know there is no one around. I hiked the trails in a circular route to a large rock outcropping. Spent a while there in the sun when it finally popped out. It was only in the high 50's but when the sun was on me it we very comfortable. I wish there were more places in CA like this. What a great place to hike naked. If you are ever up in MT you should take this hike." - L & C Desire

Friday, June 10, 2011

Last Friday night we visited Shangri La resort. It was nice getting naked outdoors again after being shut up in a building clothed for a week. We spent some time lounging by the pool, talking with several couples.

Then we enjoyed a good fish dinner. It’s always a joy to eat naked with others who understand the body is a good thing.

While eating we met and talked with the owner (Horst). Wow what a talker.

Then we walked to the recreation building and sang nude karaoke until midnight, before driving back to our workplace for the night.

Saturday we were off work. We returned to Shangri La for a few hours to present a proposal to the owner.

Then we headed to the southern Phoenix area for a pool party with members of Canyon State Naturists. We ate, swam, met and visited with nearly 20 new naturist friends. It’s so easy to enjoy the company of other naturists. It was a great time. Canyon State Naturists meet nearly every weekend so we’ll probably go again. Their website is http://www.canyonstatenaturists.org/ .

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

On another site, WilliamCA asked this questions: "To be honest, I'm short on money and dating skills. I'm no longer a fan of clubs, and I don't believe in going to a church to find a date. But what about nudist resorts. I've thought about it but I'm so depressed and not sure if I can afford the gas to travel to even a local one. Is it worth it? Are nudist women better dates?

How would you answer WilliamCA's question?

Here is my response: "I met PJ through a dating site. My profile on the site listed one interest as "Finding someone who would enjoy walking down the beach naked with me." Hundreds responded. PJ was one.

When PJ and I first talked on the phone I let her know I was a naturist in the first five minutes. She wasn't a naturist - thought I was talking about watching birds. After talking for five hours we decided to meet.

Our first date was to a nude swim (her 1st nude activity). She was the only woman. She loved it. That was way good enough for me. We marrried a few weeks later, and honeymooned at Glen Eden."

Friday, June 3, 2011

Photos of nude people and art photos are okay, but I really enjoy nude photos when the people in the shots are doing something naturist. Here is a link to some examples I've collected through the years: http://imageevent.com/kenandjane/nphotos

About Me

I'm Kenfreehiker & my beautiful/fun wife is PJ. We travel frequently with work, but maintain our home at Olive Dell Ranch (Colton, CA).
We’ve visited over 20 naturist resorts, 7 beaches, and 5 hot springs, have taken two nude boating trips in Southern Utah, have freehiked many places, and enjoy naturist home activities and parties.
We've lived for at Glen Eden in Corona CA. We have been board members at Olive Dell Ranch, where we call home, and enjoy creating Dellymaze Park and organizing the Bare Burro 5k.
One of our favorate pastimes is freehiking. For organized the Freehiking Utah Group that hiked at least twice a month. We now do most of our nude freeniking in California, where we organized the FreehikingCA group.
We are also the founders and moderators of a naturist travel club called "Skinny Trippers" that plans naturist travels and activities, gets together when possible, and then writes Skinny Reports (often with group photos) which are posted on our egroup – http://groups.google.com/group/skinnytrippers . (All are welcome to join this site.)
PJ and I love Christ, each other, our friends, and being naturists.